Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer
Being in a bad mood one evening this week, I drove around the harbour to Eastbourne, past the old bus garages to Burdan's gate on the Pencarrow road. It was just on sunset, and across the water the hills of Miramar and Seatoun, Brooklyn and Hawkins Hill loomed blackly against the fast fading colour in the West. The lights around Mt Crawford prison and the big Telecom satellite dish below it were prominent. Softer lights from houses made it all look quite festive. A white shape drifted towards me from the direction of the central city and it soon became apparent that this was TranzRail's latest ferry the Spanish built "Aratere". Clearly this was not a routine voyage since she was moving extremely slowly. No real bow wave was visible, which indicates just how slowly. A vessel of her size normally makes quite a fuss. When she was past Matiu / Somes Island instead of the customary turn to starboard and out through the heads, she turned to port heading in the direction of the Hutt River mouth. Eventually Aratere turned about and came back to the South, seemingly just a few hundred metres off shore. Wavelets were flopping noisily onto the pebbled shore but otherwise it was a very still night, and the rumble of her engines was plainly audible. She turned her stern towards me so that all the lights in the truck deck were glaring at me and wombled off towards Wellington again. Very mysterious.
On with the news:
All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, IRN Ltd whose current news listing can be found at http://www.xtramsn.co.nz/news/
All material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "HH" will indicate an opinion from Helen.
Dairy Board Is Exporter of Year
The Dairy Board has scooped the biggest prize at the New Zealand Export Awards. It was named 'Exporter of the Year' at the awards in Auckland last night. The Dairy Board exported more than 1.3 million tonnes of dairy products last year, earning $4.8 billion in foreign exchange. That amounts to 23 per cent of New Zealand's total foreign exchange earnings. The Dairy Board employs 9,600 people, and exports to 148 countries and territories. Winners were judged on foreign exchange earnings and business practices.
(I couldn't resist this item which emerged late last week. People keep attacking the extent of our involvement in primary products. My answer is we are so good at it, that we would not merely shoot ourselves in the foot, we would blow a whole leg off if we did not continue this lucrative and nationally beneficial trade. A related statistic which Warren Larsen released was that of all the dairy product traded internationally, as opposed to consumed domestically, the NZDB sells 32% of it. - BH)
The Lotteries Commission says criticism of its staff superannuation scheme is unfounded. The Greens have revealed Commission staff receive a super payout of 10 per cent of their earnings, without having to contribute anything. Greens co-leader Rod Donald believes it is the most generous retirement plan in the country. However the Lotteries Commission defends the scheme. Finance manager Warren Salisbury says it is part of a salary package that is benchmarked against those of other public servants.
(There is a strongly puritanical streak in Mr Donald, who seems to think that if your employer is a government department, your conditions should somehow be the most frugal. I disagree with him. - BH)
Hamilton is now almost as big as Dunedin, the country's fourth- largest city. Latest figures from Statistics New Zealand show Hamilton's population has increased to 117,000. That is just 2,500 fewer than Dunedin. However when outlying areas such as Cambridge and Te Awamutu are included, the Waikato city is already New Zealand's fourth-biggest urban area. The ongoing trend for people to move north continues, but Hamilton is not growing as fast as other cities. Its growth rate is below the national average of 0.5 per cent a year.
(I am surprised that this is news. I honestly thought this happened years ago. The figures for the biggest cities ... urban areas ... have had Hamilton as bigger than Dunedin since the 1986 census, and I guess they must be referring to the inhabitants of the nominal territorial authority's land area - BH)
The government may have given veteran trade unionist Ken Douglas the country's highest honour, but that definitely has not won his support. Mr Douglas was made a member of the Order of New Zealand in the New Years Honours list, a title that can only be held by 20 living New Zealanders. However today the former head of the Council of Trade Unions held a media conference at Parliament, hosted by Labour, to give his ringing endorsement to that party. Ken Douglas says the running of the country can not be left "to second-rate people". He says any party vote, which is not given to Labour, is a misplaced vote.
(The headline had me going there for a minute. I thought Roger was having his last revenge on Labour by maliciously endorsing them ... fortunately it was the other Douglas - BH)
A $15 million land claim by a Kaipara iwi is a step closer. Representatives from Te Uri o Hau, and Treaty Negotiations minister Sir Doug Graham signed a heads of agreement for the claim during the weekend. The agreement includes the option of cash and Crown land from Dargaville, across to Mangawhai heads, and down to Wellsford. Sir Graham Latimer, who negotiated the deal, says the package will provide the tribe with an opportunity to improve education and health. A formal Deed of Settlement will now be developed, before going to Parliament for approval.
The Coastguard says it is doing everything it can to find a light plane with two people on board, missing off the North Canterbury coast. Sonar equipment on a Navy vessel is being brought in this afternoon to help with the search. The Piper Cherokee disappeared early on Sunday evening, just after the pilot issued a mayday call. An initial search yesterday was abandoned at nightfall, but resumed at first light this morning. Four boats, a plane and a helicopter have been taking part in the effort, however there has been no sign of the missing aircraft. The names of the Japanese nationals onboard the plane have not been released, however police have confirmed they are two men, who both live in Christchurch.
(The plane was found on Friday by HMNZS Kiwi - an RNZN inshore coastal patrol vessel using a towed sonar device. It seems the plane probably ditched successfully, and that the two people aboard suffered no injuries in the crash. The likely scenario is that they drowned in the rough seas which prevailed at that time. - BH)
New Zealand First will sue the Christchurch Press after a story about one of its candidates was proved to be wrong. The Press ran allegations by a former patient of Dr Andrew Gin, number eight on the New Zealand First list, that he had 'double dipped' on an ACC claim. The ACC has today cleared Dr Gin of any wrong-doing. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is furious with the paper and says legal action will be taken. He says it was a "despicable" attempt to discredit a party and its leader just before an election.
A 27-year-old has died following a fatal crash at Taneatua in the Eastern Bay of Plenty on Tuesday. The man lost control of his motorcycle which then left the road. Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the man riding along Reid's Road shortly before the accident.
The Tranz Rail rescue helicopter is on its way to retrieve an injured fisherman one hundred and fourteen nautical miles off the coast of Balclutha. An ambulance spokesperson says the man has sustained a severe hand injury. The helicopter left shortly after four, and the round trip is expected to take between two and a half and three hours. The injured seaman will be brought back to Dunedin hospital for treatment.
Tougher sentencing campaigner Norm Withers says his cause will ironically benefit from a recent spate of home invasions. Mr Withers' citizens initiated referendum for tougher sentencing of violent criminals goes to the polls this weekend. He says the recent increase of violent home invasion attacks has got New Zealander's thinking enough is enough. Mr Withers says he has saddened by the fact, but believes it gives more weight to his argument that society needs to be protected from violent criminals. The reduction of the number of MPs from 120 to 99, is the other referendum to be voted on this weekend.
(It is hard to know who will be punished more by longer sentences, them or us, since it was revealed this week that it costs $53,000 to keep each prisoner locked up for a year, or $117,000 for high risk prisoners - BH)
Insurance assessors say flood damage to property in Alexandra and Wanaka could amount to in excess of $7 million. Alexandra-based assessor Ian Gray of McLarens Toplis, says the flood damage is massive, with the situation in Wanaka particularly bad. He says it may be Christmas before some businesses in the town are up and running. Mr Gray says they are still a long way from working out exactly how much the flood damage will cost, but rough figures for Alexandra amount to close to $2 million, and in excess of $5 million in Wanaka.
The families of the two Japanese men missing after a plane crash off the North Canterbury are flying to Christchurch. Twenty-six- year-old Yoshikatsu Nakagaki from Kyoto and 25-year-old Takuya Taira of Okinawa had taken the Piper Cherokee on a day trip to Nelson on Sunday. It is believed the plane ditched into the sea off the Waipara River mouth. Intense air and sea searches have failed to find the wreckage. The family of one of the missing men is flying into Christchurch this afternoon, while relatives of the second man should arrive tomorrow.
Social Services Minister Roger Sowry says he is satisfied the
latest golden handshake to emerge from Work and Income New Zealand
(WINZ) was handled in the best possible way. Labour has leaked
papers showing a senior staff member was sacked, and received a
package worth more than $100,000. Labour Welfare spokesman Steve
Maharey has released documents which show the staff member was
sacked and received the money as a personal grievance payout.
He has called for the State Services Commissioner to reopen his
investigation into WINZ. Mr Sowry says the payout was only made
after advice was sought from the Crown Law Office, and it was the
cheapest option available. He says Labour admits it would not have
done anything different, which he says begs the question as to
"who is making mischief". Mr Sowry says National changed the rules
in July over state sector payouts, and they now have to be cleared
by the minister responsible. WINZ National Commissioner Ray Smith
says the settlement was within the law and appropriately
authorised. He says he will not publicly discuss any employment
matters between WINZ and an employee, and the personal affairs
between both parties are confidential. Associate Work and Income
Minster Peter McCardle is reiterating that the severance payment
was properly authorised. He says he approved the payment
reluctantly, and was disappointed the incident occurred. Mr
McCardle says he told WINZ management he hoped nothing like it
would ever occur again.
(Sounds like a switch on that old crack about fox hunting - in this case, "the inedible in defence of the indefensible" - BH)
The final days of the election campaign faded into the background on Wednesday, overshadowed by news that one of the country's most popular broadcasters is fighting cancer. TV and radio veteran Paul Holmes has revealed he is battling "very invasive" prostate cancer. The 49-year-old has been receiving treatment for about two months, and says the outlook is good. Doctors at first feared the cancer had spread to his bones, but Holmes says that is not the case. The broadcaster's decision to go public with his health problems has been praised by doctors. The Medical Association hopes New Zealand men will take heed of Holmes' openness. Association chairwoman Pippa McKay hopes his candour will prompt others into thinking about their health. Paul Holmes says his present treatment is working even better than his doctors first hoped, and he plans to keep working. He says he has spoken out to let other men know there is no shame in having prostate cancer.
(I am of course sorry to hear that anyone has this disease, but I have to wonder whether high ratings are synonymous with popularity. It's very hard to find anyone who will publicly admit to watching the Holmes show. I do. - BH)
The Historic Places Trust is unhappy at proposals to get rid of the Kawarau River Bridge near Queenstown. Queenstown mayor Warren Cooper considers the bridge to be a major contributor to the flooding problems in the town, saying it holds up drainage from Lake Wakatipu. The Trust's Southern Regional Manager Paul Thompson says the bridge was built in the 1920s and is a major engineering feat. He says they want to see some evidence and analysis from Warren Cooper, before the bridge is destroyed on his whim. The issue has been brought to the fore by heavy flooding in recent days, which has swamped the Queenstown business district, and forced the evacuation of several homes.
The body of one of two men missing after a light plane crash has been found on a north Canterbury beach. The body was found washed up on a beach near the Amberley Golf Club by a member of the public out walking at around 7:15 this morning. Senior Sergeant Dick Pettet says the body has been formally identified as one of the men, but he is not releasing the name until their families have been told. Twenty six-year-old Yoshikatsu Nakataki and 25- year-old Takuya Taira were on the Piper Cherokee, which disappeared off the north Canterbury coast on Sunday evening.
A 17-year-old has been found guilty of three charges laid in connection with a fatal train smash in Napier last month. Malcolm Hurley was convicted of one count of reckless driving causing death and two of causing injury. The Napier District Court heard how he drove his car around the barrier arms of a level crossing in Napier and was hit by a goods train. One of his passengers was killed and two others were hurt. Hurley has been remanded on bail to be sentenced on December 17th.
Dunedin police used pepper spray to remove a dog's jaws from a man's leg during an altercation at a gang headquarters on Wednesday morning. Sergeant Bruce Duncan says the dog, which was owned by one of the people living at the house, took to the man and inflicted bites to his leg and stomach. The man received hospital treatment after being arrested for wilful obstruction. Police went to the Mornington property to impound a vehicle but occupants attempted to remove it before a tow truck arrived. A second man has also been charged as a result of the incident.
The government has moved to retract the residency applications of the Chinese investors which led to the sacking of Immigration Minister Tuariki John Delamere. Prime Minister Jenny Shipley says the acting minister for the portfolio, Wyatt Creech, has taken action on the issue. Mr Delamere approved permanent residence for the investors on the basis that they would invest in specific Maori projects. The move prompted Mrs Shipley to sack him late on Wednesday afternoon. "Mr Creech acted immediately on my request early last evening and, based on the advice of the Crown Law Office and the Immigration Service, he has taken action to rescind the approvals," Mrs Shipley says. "We have one law for immigration and investment. Any change to the law or current practice, in terms of the Ministerial discretion, must be considered by the Cabinet in the appropriate way." Under the terms of the proposal, the minister would make an exception to existing immigration policy, and give the group residency if they invested between $400,000 and $600,000 in certain Maori developments. Mr Delamere says he approved the residency application for the group, believing it would benefit New Zealand as a whole. However Jenny Shipley says it is unacceptable for a Minister to use his position to make decisions which favour one group of people, Despite being sacked as Immigration Minister, Tuariki Delamere remains in cabinet, as Minister for Pacific Island Affairs.
(I wonder whether the acting minister might consider reversing some of Mr Delamere's other dubious decisions? - BH)
The husband of ACT MP Donna Awatere Huata is this morning stressing his wife is not involved in the immigration deal which led to Tuariki Delamere being sacked as Immigration Minister. The Prime Minister fired Mr Delamere after he granted an exception to allow permanent residence for a group of Chinese investors provided they invested in specific Maori projects. Mrs Awatere Huata's husband, Wi Huata, made the application for the exception. Mr Huata says his wife has been busy campaigning and was not involved in his project.
Changes to the education syllabus are due to be gazetted today, giving schools a clear direction that literacy and numeracy must be the priority in the first four years of schooling. Education Minister Nick Smith says the change will make it a requirement for schools to put a greater emphasis on the basics. The policy comes into force next year.
Two 16-year-olds have been apprehended after they were caught damaging election candidate's hoardings in Taupo. Police in Taupo say it has been an on-going problem since the hoardings were erected. This latest incident follows a nationwide increase in reports of vandalism to election candidate's hoardings. Some candidates estimate an increase of 40 per cent to the cost of replacing hoardings during the election campaign.
Police are concerned sexual predators are making bogus offers of after-school work to young people in Christchurch. Detective Sergeant Ken Legat say they are worried about two recent incidents, including one involving a convicted sex offender. He says the police are monitoring the situation but they can not check every job advertisement. Ken Legat says parents will have to make sure their children are not lured into something that they might regret later.
A 30-year-old Christchurch woman accused of helping to hook a 14- year-old girl on heroin has admitted injecting the victim with a class B drug on one occasion. The prosecution says Michelle Marie Wilson wanted to force the girl to work as a prostitute. She has been remanded on bail to appear in the High Court again next month to be sentenced. The court heard Wilson was not involved in running the girl as a prostitute. Two of her co-offenders have already been jailed for eight years and the third was sentenced to nine months after also admitting injecting the girl with morphine.
Christchurch police are trying to identify whether a second body found on a North Canterbury beach, is that of a Japanese pilot whose plane was reported missing over the weekend. Police say a couple walking along a beach south of Amberley spotted the body floating in surf this morning. They pulled it up onto the shingle and called police. The body was found approximately three kilometres south of where the corpse of the passenger on board the missing plane was found yesterday. A pathologist's report on the death of Takuia Taira has found that he died as a result of drowning, rather than from any injuries suffered in the plane crash.
Watson To Serve At Least 17 Years
Another chapter in the long-running Marlborough Sounds murder inquiry came to a noisy and abusive end on Friday, with the setting of a lengthy minimum non-parole period for the man convicted of murdering Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. Scott Watson yelled out at Justice Heron during an appearance in the High Court at Auckland, saying "It is a bloody farce, I hope you burn in hell." Justice Heron had earlier sentenced Watson to serve 17 years of his life sentence before he can be considered eligible for parole. The normal non-parole period is 10 years. The ruling also angered members of Watson's family who were in court for today's appearance. They stormed out, also abusing the judge. The Crown had asked for a minimum period of 14 years, based on the "intrinsic quality of dangerousness in this man's personality". Watson's defence said he maintains his innocence and is appealing the convictions. Justice Heron said Watson's actions bear the hallmarks of a lone psychopath, and his chances of ever being released on parole are remote. Ben Smart and Olivia Hope disappeared on New Year's Day last year, prompting a massive police investigation that ended several months later with Watson's arrest. They had earlier been at a New Years party at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds. The bodies of the two young Blenheim friends have never been found.
The government has appointed a "Solutions Co-ordinator" to find a way to avoid future flooding along the Clutha River in Central Otago. The appointment of engineer and former Central Electric chief executive Alex Adams follows flooding which caused widespread damage in Alexandra, Queenstown and Wanaka last week. Prime Minister Jenny Shipley says one of the key tasks for Mr Adams will be to examine the issue of siltation of hydro lakes, and whether that has contributed to the repeated flooding of Alexandra. Locals blame a silt build up over the past 40 years for the devastating floods which have hit three times in the last five years
Wairoa mayor and election candidate Derek Fox is disappointed his area has missed out on crucial investment from a group of Chinese seeking residency here. The Government has rescinded approvals granted by sacked Immigration Minister Tuariki Delamere which would have allowed the Chinese residency - provided they invested in specific Maori projects. Wairoa was one of the areas set to benefit and Derek Fox says anything that can help develop poorer areas has got be a good thing. He says he can not see the harm in making active use of foreign investment.
Former Christchurch deputy Mayor and current city councillor Dr Morgan Fahey has been committed for High Court trial on 13 sex charges including rape, sexual violation and indecent assault. The allegations have been made by 11 of Fahey's female patients. Written depositions supporting the charges were filed in the Christchurch District Court today but defence lawyer Chris McVeigh successfully applied for an order suppressing their contents. Mr McVeigh consented to the committal for trial but said there will be no guilty pleas. Fahey's bail is continued until a pre- trial conference on December 10th.
Police say they do not believe a man who died in the Stratford bomb explosion yesterday was trying to target them. Two constables were blown off their feet by the blast as they walked up the drive to the man's home. Detective Senior Sergeant Don Allen says the man called them giving the impression the situation was urgent. However there is no suggestion the man was trying to hurt anyone but himself. Don Allen says the explosive used by the man was Powergel and easily obtainable.
Another oil company has raised its prices. The cost of petrol at Challenge outlets will go up two cents a litre from midnight. Challenge spokesman Bob Constantine says the company would not increase its prices unless it really had to. He says Challenge can not afford to absorb the cost of the increasing price of crude oil, which is set to rise even further. Bob Constantine says if the forecast is correct, prices will go up again before the end of the year. BP, Mobil and Caltex all bumped their prices up by two cents a litre this week.
(reported by BH on the basis of still incomplete results Sunday
Morning)
With a huge number of special votes still to be counted, the
provisional number of seats when all the electorate votes are
counted are:
Labour 52
National 41
Alliance 11
ACT 9
NZF 6
United 1
As a consequence, Labour and the Alliance can form a coalition
without the need for other parties. This could alter slightly if
special votes and recounts could favour the Greens in Coromandel
to the tune of 114 votes. On election night the Green party verged
on the brink of electoral breakthrough all night, emerging with
approximately 4.9% of the party votes, just shy of the required 5%
for a proportional representation. Jeannette Fitzsimons, leader of
the Greens also came extraordinarily close to winning her
electorate seat in Coromandel, finally missing by that very narrow
margin of 114 votes. In Tauranga, it was a three way race between
Winston Peters, Katherine O'Regan of National and Margaret Wilson
of Labour. The very last batch of votes delivered gave it to
Winston Peters by 323 votes. In Wellington Central, despite the
lead see-sawing all night, Marian Hobbs emerged 1,101 votes ahead
of ACT leader Richard Prebble. Only the party vote sees him remain
in parliament as the only leader without an electorate seat. The
six Maori seats returned solidly and en-bloc to the Labour fold
with all of the party jumping former NZF members being soundly and
contemptuously dumped into the minor placings. Only in Ikaroa-
Rawhiti (formerly Eastern Maori did the independent, Derek Fox
give the Labour candidate a serious run, losing by 596 on the
night. The narrowest overall majority on the night would appear to
be that of Simon Power of Rangitikei who leads Labour by 31 votes.
The only other close result was in Northcote where National's Ian
Revell was beaten on the night by Labour's Ann Hartley. The one
result which will undoubtedly get into the foreign press is the
victory of Georgina Beyers, the transsexual mayor of Carterton who
won the formerly safe National seat of Wairarapa. Traditionally,
special votes have favoured the right.
Party leaders all made gracious concessions or modest acknowledgement speeches as is the custom.
Two (non-binding) referenda were held in parallel.... on the issue of reducing the number of MPs, about 80% were in favour, and on tougher attitudes to criminals, 93%
Date: 25 November 1999 Brian Dooley
Wellington New Zealand
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